Embodiments relate to thermal sensors.
Many flight systems require an accurate estimate of the vehicles airspeed and angle of attack/sideslip to maintain control. These estimates are used in autopilot gain scheduling as well as maintaining coordinated flight of a missile by minimizing sideslip. The most common method of measuring this on an aircraft is to use a pitot probe. The pitot probe is a pressure sensor at the front of the vehicle configured to directly measure the vehicle's airspeed through ram pressure. The pitot probe location may disrupt the low observable (LO) properties of the vehicle and uses prime real estate needed for other seeker sensors. The pitot probe measures airspeed, but does not measure the angle of attack or sideslip which are also used to maintain control of the vehicle. Thus, the angle of attack and sideslip are determined by alternate means. By way of non-limiting example, multiple pitot probes may be used to estimate the angle of attack and sideslip. Multiple pitot probes may have an impact on the aerodynamic performance and LO properties.
Other systems use less accurate inertial methods of aerodynamic flight parameter estimation to determine vehicle airspeed, angle of attack, and sideslip.